Ashley Palochak

I have been leveling up my approach to psychotherapy for the span of my career, most recently completing training in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR). This is now the primary approach of my practice. My career began nearly 15 years ago with victim advocacy, working with survivors of sexual violence, first as a volunteer then graduating to counselor as my education progressed. I also gained a great deal of experience in crisis response and substance use treatment from working in residential/inpatient facilities with adolescents and adults. A great deal of my clinical experience has been in practice of Dialectical Behavior and Cognitive Behavior Therapies, which continue to be solid supports for my work in EMDR with clients.

My history of practice in DBT has trained me to be a direct but affirming clinician. I often tell my clients Once you warm up to me, I won't hold back my honest evaluations. DBT calls this "irreverence," and it's one of my favorite things about myself as a therapist. I can be emotionally supportive and caring while also calling my clients out on maladaptive, dysfunctional, or unhealthy behaviors. Additionally, my professional growth has led me to value the incredible healing that EMDR can bring for people with a surprising range of emotional challenges, so I'm excited to say my approach is more effective than ever before.

I like to keep things mostly lighthearted in initial conversations and history-taking. I think a sense of humor is important, so I try not to be excessively clinical. We'll start with the usual intake process, but I hope to make it feel more like a casual chat than a chore. Of course, I need to be thorough and ask questions about sometimes difficult or uncomfortable topics, but the more honest and open a client is about their history, the easier it will be for us to collaborate on a way forward.